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Allan's Story
 Allan joined Hope Ministries’ recovery program last year, but his heart just wasn’t in it. Soon, he was asked to leave. “So I camped in the woods near Gray’s Lake,” Allan says. “My campsite turned into a community of 15-20. We even had a church that preached on Sundays. But after three months, the weather turned cold and my health turned bad.”
Allan returned to Hope Ministries’ Bethel Mission for shelter and began working in our kitchen. “I missed the accountability of work,” he explains. “Work feels better because I’m accomplishing something.”
Certified in commercial cooking, Allan enjoys using the donated food Hope Ministries receives to prepare up to 350 meals for homeless and low-income people who come to our three facilities, including Hope Café, for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
“We’re a team here in the kitchen. And the residents are very appreciative and complimentary!” Allan says. “The Lord’s blessed us with a lot of people who open their hearts to give.”
While at Bethel Mission, Allan is completing mental and medical evaluations at the VA. Sober for more than a year, he is focused on getting a job that will make him self-sufficient. “A year from now I hope to have a good job cooking,” he says. “I don’t want to go back to the woods or a homeless shelter again.”
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